The Roommates
by Durotos
Summary: MFoMT. Gray's social awkwardness knows no bounds. But now he has to deal with both a new roommate and a mysterious new blonde farmer... Rated T. Please read and review! Also, check my profile for author's notes!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoy my story. Please read and review, and don't forget to check my profile for more information and Author's Notes!**

**Many thanks!**

**Durotos**

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A middle aged man wrung out his checkered washcloth and wiped down the counter before him, paying special attention to the rings of dampness the beer steins had made. He ran a hand through his rust colored hair and sighed. It was already eight o'clock at night, and business had been so slow that he was considering closing early.

The door to the inn creaked open and revealed a gloomy young man in the entrance. The man made his way up to the innkeeper and slammed a fistful of coins on the counter.

"Gray? You'd like a drink?" Doug was shocked, to say the least.

The young man shook his head. "Rent."

Doug quickly counted the coins with his finger and scooped them up in his hand. "Thank you, Gray, you're never late with your payments. How about a drink, on the house?"

The blacksmith considered this for a moment, then nodded and took a seat at the counter as Doug slid him a beer.

"So, how go things at the smithy?" Doug leaned his elbows on the counter.

Gray made no motion to take the drink, obviously not a drinker. "Same old, same old."

"And how is Saibara?"

"Still kicking." Gray sounded glum. He pulled the stein closer to him and poked the thick froth with his finger, like a child. Gray popped his finger into his mouth to taste the brew, quickly deciding he didn't care too much for it.

"I hear that the farm to the south is still empty."

Gray snorted. "Like anyone would be dumb enough to want to live there." He took small sips of his drink out of boredom.

"Well, we really could use a farm around here," Doug chose his words carefully.

"We've already got Barley and Lillia." Gray replied bluntly.

"True." Gray was always so difficult to keep a conversation with.

A young woman bounced down the stairs and hopped onto the stool next to Gray's.

"Hello!"

The blacksmith tried his best not to roll his eyes. "Hello, Ann." He went back to his beer.

Doug's daughter looked at her father, eyes sparkling. "Did you tell Gray about our new resident?"

Gray choked on his drink. Someone new in town? Who on earth would choose to live here?

"Oh, yes," Doug stroked his moustache thoughtfully. "A young man about your age. He just arrived half an hour ago. His name's Clint."

"Cliff, Dad!" Ann corrected, swinging her feet.

Gray ceased to realize why this affected him in any way.

"Looks like you got a new roommate, eh, Gray?" Ann nudged the blacksmith in the ribs, causing him to choke yet again.

Gray rolled his eyes. "I can hardly wait."

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Cliff threw himself down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. The room was quiet, and the only sounds he could hear were the muffled voices downstairs in the bar. It had a soothing effect on him, and it reminded him much of the way things were never really quiet at his original village. It had always been full of songs and laughter. But all good things must come to an end.

It had only been a couple of weeks ago since Cliff last saw his home town. The place that had once been full of joy and life now seemed dark and empty. The only choice he had left was to leave. So Cliff had taken the few belongings he owned, threw them in a satchel, and left his home once again, never looking back. It wasn't his home anymore. And it was up to him to find a place that was worthy of being called "home" once again.

The young man snapped out of his reverie as he heard the door to his room squeak open, revealing Gray.

"H-hello." Cliff watched the blacksmith enter the room.

Gray nodded, as by way of greeting.

"M-my name is Cliff," the young man stammered, intimidated by Gray's cold stare.

"You're sitting on my bed."

Cliff could feel his ears get hot. "Oh! I'm sorry. Just let me move my things-"

"You're fine. I'll sleep over here." Gray started walking to the other end of the room.

"But-!"

"Fine, whatever. Just pick your spot." Gray stopped walking and crossed his arms.

Cliff scrambled off of Gray's bed and took the one on the opposite side of the room.

"The name's Gray, by the way," the blacksmith tugged on the bill of his cap.

"I'm Cliff."

"I know."

Cliff could feel himself blushing madly. "R-right."

"So, what brings you to a town like this?"

Cliff hesitated. "Moving out." He figured this would be a safe answer for now.

Gray pulled on his hat thoughtfully. "That's what I came here for, too."

"Really?" Cliff was eager to focus the conversation on anyone but himself.

"Yeah. I moved here a couple of years ago to become a blacksmith apprentice. My Gramps owns the smithy to the south. So I've been working there and using what little pay he gives me to rent out this place."

"I-it must be nice, working with family."

"No." Gray's voice was as hard as his eyes.

"Oh…" Cliff couldn't help but wonder if all conversations with his new roommate were going to be so difficult and awkward.

"D-don't get me wrong, Gramps can be okay… sometimes…" It was Gray's turn to blush. "But you know how it can be with relatives. Sometimes you just can't wait to get away from them."

"Right." Cliff's stomach felt sour.

"So, what's your story? Why did you decide to move away from your home?"

"Oh, you know… I just felt ready to go out by myself." Cliff hoped he sounded more confident than he actually was.

Gray nodded thoughtfully. "So, how old are you, anyway? Twenty-one?"

"Close," Cliff chuckled nervously. "Twenty-two."

"I'm twenty-three," Gray felt obligated to answer the question as well.

"Hey, old enough to drink," Cliff's laugh was strained. "Well, I suppose I am, too," he added quietly, hoping he wasn't making himself out to sound like a drunk.

"Meh, that stuff tastes like crap anyway," Gray dismissed this with the wave of his hand.

Disappointed he wasn't able to get a laugh at him, Cliff stared down at his feet. "So… What's your favorite thing about this town?" Cliff immediately despised his lame question.

"Oh, that's easy. The library." A small smile spread across Gray's face.

"Oh?"

Gray chuckled. "I don't look like the reading type, do I?" He paused. "My… best friend works there."

"Oh." Cliff was tiring of using the same expression over and over and quickly added, "I see."

"Well, I hope you weren't looking for too exciting of a town, because there isn't too much to do around here. It's simple, but I suppose it's nice."

"Yeah. I think I'm going to look around town tomorrow." Cliff began to realize that he had stopped stuttering in front of Gray.

"That's a good idea." Gray took off his hat and sat on his bed, reaching his hand up and hovering it over the light switch. "Is it okay to turn off the lights now?"

Cliff moved onto his back and pulled the covers up to his chin. "Yeah, sure."

Gray flicked off the light and the room suddenly turned pitch black. Cliff smiled to himself. It wasn't a scary darkness, but rather, a soothing, comforting one. He jumped as he heard Gray's gruff voice on the opposite side of the room.

"Hey, Cliff?"

"Yeah?"

"Welcome to Mineral Town."

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**Cheesy ending to the chapter, eh? Sorry 'bout that. Chapter 2 should be up soon. Thanks for reading!**

**Also check out the poll on my profile!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the delays. Homework. Well, anyway, here is chapter 2! Enjoy!**

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It had been the first sound sleep that Cliff had had in ages. The young man awoke the next morning to the sound of a thud. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes.

The blacksmith apprentice had tossed his heavy work boots on the floor and sat on the edge of his bed to put them on. Gray could feel the young man's eyes on him and he looked up. Not used to having to share his room, Gray realized how loud he was being, but decided not to apologize.

"'Morning."

"Good morning." Cliff figured now would be a good time to wake up, too. Cliff stretched and his face immediately fell as he felt a tugging on his hair. The young man touched his head, sighing when he realized that he had left it tied back as he slept. It was now severely tangled. Cliff was startled by a snicker.

"That's why I do this," the blacksmith picked up his hat off of his nightstand and pulled it on his sandy colored head.

Cliff gingerly reached back and tugged at his hair tie, wincing. "What about hat hair?"

Gray shrugged. "Meh, I only take it off when I'm either sleeping or taking a shower."

"Oh…" Cliff's eyes watered as he finally freed his hair. He now held in his hands a hair band that was twisted and covered with tangled pieces of hair.

"Well, good luck with that," Gray looked at Cliff's hair and left, slamming the door behind him.

"Oh… Bye!" Cliff knew that his roommate couldn't hear him anyway.

The young man quickly slid off of his bed and straightened the covers. Today was the first full day in this new town; perhaps even the first full day in his new home.

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Gray shuffled his feet as he took his usual path to Saibara's. The young man sighed. It was just as he had told Cliff earlier. The town didn't really have all that much to it, and there wasn't too much to do. The apprentice kicked a pebble down the sidewalk. Things weren't nearly so dreary when the clock struck one. He would still have quite a few hours to go.

If the apprentice were to be perfectly blunt, he would admit that he didn't feel like going to work that day. Gray felt like something was missing. But he had felt it was there last evening when he met Cliff for the first time. What was that feeling? He hadn't had that feeling for nearly two years, when he first moved to Mineral Town.

Excitement. That was it! He longed for something new! Gray typically didn't care having anything to do with anyone, but yesterday was different. The young blacksmith couldn't remember the last time he had met someone new. And although Cliff didn't seem like the brightest person in the world, it was still nice to see a new face.

Gray wasn't looking where he was going and nearly bumped into a young woman on his way.

"Mary, what are you doing here, at this hour?"

The librarian shifted her notebook in her arms. "Well, the library was closed today, so I thought I would take a change of pace and go out to the spring to write."

That feeling rose to his stomach again. He quickly spit out the first thing that came to his mind.

"Can I join you?"

Mary's cheeks reddened. "That would be wonderful, but… Are you really sure? You have work today, don't you?"

"Yes. I do have work. But I am not going today."

The young woman gasped. "B-but won't you get in trouble with your grandfather?"

Gray nodded. "Yeah, but I don't care."

"Well, gee, Gray… I d-don't want to be getting you into trouble…"

Gray clasped his friend's hand. "We'll be fine. Come on, let's go!"

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_Mom? Ivy? Are you there? Where are you? I could've sworn I just heard your voices…_

Cliff sat cross legged on his bed; his brown tresses fell just a couple inches past his shoulders. He had just gotten out of the shower. It was strange, he thought, having to leave your dwelling to take a shower. The awkwardness of carrying his bags to and from the bathroom didn't sit well with him. It just reminded him further that he was merely a guest at the inn, and not a permanent resident. A quick knock on the door interrupted the young man's thoughts, and before he could respond, the door flung open by the innkeeper's daughter.

"Oh, hi, Cliff!" Ann was shocked to find someone in the room.

"H-hello."

"I hardly recognized you with your hair down. I just came in to clean. Is it alright if I come in? Or should I leave?"

"Oh, no that's okay," Cliff stammered, reddening.

Ann giggled. "My father hates it when I go to clean a guest's room when they are still in. I just wanted to talk to you a bit. Is that alright?"

"S-sure, I guess." The fact that someone deliberately came to talk to him made Cliff nervous.

"Well, I'll use the excuse that I came in to clean so I can talk to you, too." Ann stripped the sheets off Gray's bed and chuckled. She glanced over at the young man and noticed how his eyes were glued to the floor.

Ann shook the sheets to catch Cliff's attention. "I never knew how dusty a forge could be until I cleaned Gray's sheets." She tried to start conversation.

"Dusty?" Cliff's voice grew a little stronger.

The innkeeper's daughter nodded as she held up a pillowcase. It was adorned with a faint outline of the blacksmith's head. "Soot."

"Wow. I've never been in a forge before, so I never knew how dirty they could be." Cliff's eyes widened.

Ann smiled. "Neither have I, but it must be pretty dusty, eh?"

"Yeah." Cliff paused. "I was going to go out to check out the town today. Maybe I'll see it while I'm out."

"Oh! That sounds like fun! Shall I give you a tour?"

Cliff could feel himself hesitating, but there was something in the young woman's sapphire eyes that gave him a familiar sense of warmth. "Yes."

Ann let out a squeal of joy and threw the sheets up in the air in celebration.

"Yay! I love walking around town! This is going to be so much fun! I'll show you all of my favorite spots, `kay?"

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**Sorry for the short chapter. I've been working ahead, but things should start falling into place. Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks for checking out my story!**


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